FRISCO, Texas -- The 3-5 Dallas Cowboys are likely to be without quarterback Dak Prescott for an extended amount of time because of a hamstring injury. That won't be the case for 2023 first-team wide receiver All-Pro CeeDee Lamb despite him suffering a shoulder injury in a 27-21 Week 9 loss at the Atlanta Falcons.
Lamb fell on the shoulder three times, but he will play in Week 10 against the Philadelphia Eagles (6-2) on Sunday after being removed from the injury report. He's been practicing all week, and isn't wearing a brace or anything of that sort to protect the injured shoulder.
"My shoulder is much better than it was on Sunday, I'll tell you that. I've taken a big step throughout the week in these last two to three days, if you will. I'm good. I was out there running today, getting right," Lamb said Wednesday. "It's more so pain. Obviously, the tolerance, the range of motion is all there. As you can see I battled throughout the whole game, the rest of the game, finished the game. Granted, I didn't play the way I wanted to, but it is what it is. It's going to take a little more than that to get me out as you can tell."
Lamb was limited in practice Wednesday and again Thursday before fully participating in Friday's walkthrough.
"Feel better," Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said on a conference call on Friday when asked how Lamb is feeling. "Had a lot of practice. Had a very good practice [Thursday] really as a whole. It was a very physical, energetic practice. I was pleased with that and CeeDee took all his reps. So he looks good."
He finished the game Sunday despite needing to walk off the field multiple times because he was in pain. He caught eight of his 12 targets for 47 yards and ran for another 15 on two carries. The 25-year-old claims he isn't trying to play through the pain for anybody in a year in which a number of Cowboys like Prescott, 2023 NFL interceptions leader and cornerback DaRon Bland (foot stress fracture), three-time All-Pro Micah Parsons (high ankle strain) and four-time Pro Bowler DeMarcus Lawrence (foot) have all went down with injuries. It's about his passion for football.
"I'm tough. And that's not for show, and that's not to prove to anyone," Lamb said. "That's just me and my will to win and my love for the game. They've been trying to take me out since right after it happened, and I wasn't going. And I landed on it three times in a row and that was very brutal for me. It sucked. It was bad. With that, I don't want them to be out there without me. They're going to have that confidence that 88 is going to be over there, wherever, the opposite, same side, that I'm going to do my job. So I need them [teammates] to lock in and do theirs, and with that, we're going to have much success."
The three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver took accountability for his sideline antics in a 28-25 Week 3 home loss against the Baltimore Ravens earlier this season calling it "very detrimental" and "craziness." Now, Lamb is showcasing his ability to lead by example and fight through knicks and bruises in a season where it would be very easy to sit down with injury. The NFL's 2023 receptions leader (135) is catching a career-low 63.1% of his targets in 2024, just a year removed from hauling in 74.6% of his targets last season. The Cowboys offensive line having communication issues, and Dallas' run game being the second-worst in the NFL, averaging 82.0 rushing yards per game, doesn't help.
Yet, Lamb is still producing this season despite the inefficiency: his 660 receiving yards are the fourth-most in the entire league, and he ranks fifth in the NFL in catches with 53. Despite his four touchdown catches standing as tied for 16th in 2024, Lamb is only three of Cincinnati Bengals Pro Bowler Ja'Marr Chase's seven.
"I feel like it's an underrated trait that I have," Lamb said of his durability. "It's a lot of hits that I've taken. It's a lot of things that I've had to take that many others I feel like would have folded. With that, I take it with a grain of salt and keep it moving. Everybody's different. A lot of hits would have taken a lot of guys out. But with that, again, it's more so, I'm not just out there for me. It's a lot of people I'm representing. It's a lot of people I'm taking care of. And it's a lot of people that I want to go out there and inspire. So with that being said, I know somebody out there paid their last dollar to come watch me play. I'm going to be out there for them."